Élie Buzyn

Élie Buzyn born on January 7, 1929 in Łódź, Poland) is a French orthopedic surgeon, of Polish origin, a survivor and witness of the Holocaust.[1][2][3]

Initially, he was with his family in Łódź Ghetto. As early as January 1945, in front of the advance of the Soviet army, the Nazi authorities transferred the prisoners to the Buchenwald concentration camp, during the Death Marches. Arriving at the Buchenwald camp, he has his shoes stolen. After that, her feet froze. In the infirmary, he is told that he must have both feet amputated to prevent the development of gangrene. Frightened, he runs away from the infirmary and returns to his barracks. A Russian soldier, hearing about what had happened, recommended that he soak his feet alternately in cold and hot water. After a few days and nights, his legs begin to heal.[4]

First, he lived in Palestine for seven years, became the State of Israel, then, after a short stay in France, spent two years in Oran. In 1956 he moved permanently to France and received a medical degree and later became a surgeon. He testifies to his desire to forget, which leads to him being deprived of his liberty. After 50 years of silence, he decided to testify his life to ghetto and camp survivors.[5]

Thus, Élie Buzyn annually visits Auschwitz.[6][7]

He was knighted in the Legion of Honour in 2014[8] and commanded an Ordre des Palmes académiques in 2017.[9]

Élie Buzyn is the husband of Etty Buzyn, psychologist, psychoanalyst and writer. He is the father of Agnès Buzyn, president of the College of the High Authority for Health then Minister of Health from 2017 to 2020.[10]